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SK Chemicals - IVI Partnership Strengthened to Improve Children’s Health in the Developing World
SK Chemicals-IVI Partnership Strengthened
to Improve Children’s Health in the Developing World
SK Chemicals and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) vowed to strengthen their existing collaboration as part of efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of poor population in developing countries through continued partnership on vaccine development and delivery.
On October 29th, a delegation from IVI that consisted of several of its board members and a delegation from SK Chemicals gathered to review the development status of the typhoid conjugate vaccine and to discuss further collaboration opportunities at the SK Chemicals Headquarters.
IVI is a nonprofit international organization that was officially established in 1997 as an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to prevent and control neglected infectious diseases that afflict the poor, especially children, in developing countries through the discovery, development and delivery of safe, effective, and affordable vaccines. It is the first international organization to have its headquarters based in South Korea. IVI recently announced the appointment of Korean-American scientist, Dr. Jerome H. Kim, as Director General who will start his tenure early next year.
Having entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2012 between the two organizations, SK Chemicals and IVI signed on Technology Transfer Agreement and Global Access Agreement for the typhoid conjugate vaccine in April 2013 and have initiated the development of the vaccine. SK Chemicals reported that the collaboration product is currently under the preclinical studies and the clinical studies will be initiated next year. After World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification is achieved for the vaccine, SK Chemicals will produce up to 10 million doses of the product at its Andong Manufacturing Plant in order to supply to the developing world through groups such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and UN International Child Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
“IVI is excited to work with SK Chemicals due to their strong commitment to global health. Together, IVI and SK Chemicals will help save lives through the new typhoid conjugate vaccine,” said Mr. John Morahan, Acting Director General of IVI, “We will continue to cooperate closely with SK Chemicals in efforts to improve public health in developing countries through vaccines and vaccination.”
Mr. In-Serk Lee, CEO of SK Chemicals expressed his firm will to build a continued collaboration with IVI, stating “The mission of SK Chemicals’ vaccine business is to promote human health. I am glad to see that our mission is being materialized through the development of the typhoid conjugate vaccine in cooperation with IVI.”
Typhoid fever is a disease that is caused by the bacterium, Salmonella Typhi, and is spread most commonly by consumption of food or water contaminated with bacteria from human waste. There is almost no occurrence of typhoid fever in industrialized nations but the rate of incidence is still high in developing nations where water systems, hygiene, and infrastructure are still inadequate. According to the WHO, approximately 21 million people contract the disease globally, with over 200,000people dying from it annually.
Last August, SK Chemicals received accreditation approval of Good Manufacturing Practice for its Andong Plant, also known as the L HOUSE, from the Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), finishing all of the preparation necessary to start commercial vaccine production. Besides the typhoid conjugate vaccine, SK Chemicals has entered into an agreement with Sanofi Pasteur for collaboration in the development and commercialization of a new Pneumococcal vaccine and has established a foundation to enter the global vaccine market.
(IVI delegation together with SK Chemicals’ research faculties participating in the development of a typhoid vaccine for children of the developing world.
In-Serk Lee, CEO of SK Chemicals (fifth from left), and John Morahan, Acting Director General of the IVI (fourth from left), shared commitment to improve the health of children in the developing world through continued collaboration between two organizations. )
About IVI
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is the world’s only international organization devoted exclusively to developing and introducing new and improved vaccines to protect the world’s poorest people, especially children in developing countries. Established in 1997, IVI operates as an independent international organization under a treaty signed by 35 countries and the World Health Organization. The Institute conducts research in more than 20 countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America on vaccines against enteric and diarrheal infections, Japanese encephalitis, and dengue fever, and develops new and improved vaccines at its headquarters in Seoul, Republic of Korea. For more information, please visit http://www.ivi.int.
l Contacts
Sung-Woo Kim, Team Manager,/SK Chemicals PR Team
Phone: 010-5248-5308
Jun Ho Jung, Manager/SK Chemicals PR Team
Phone: 010-2581-9717
Tae Kyung Byun, Public Awareness/Advocacy Officer, IVI
Phone: +82-2-872-2801 (Ext. 159)
Mobile: +82-11-9773-6071
Email: tkbyun@ivi.int